Following are the answers to the 10 True/False questions from the Leads Pretest.  Read the original question.  Read the answer.  Read the follow up question and answer that question on a sheet of paper which will be turned in tomorrow.

1) An example of a lead, which develops character, is:

     The Frisbee careened off the wall, kissed the counter, and

broke three dishes.  Pieces of ceramic dishes scattered across

the floor as the Frisbee settled amid the debris and slowly spun

in ever smaller circles.  The echoing clatter sounded throughout

the house.

False    (What lead type is used?)

The lead type used is “action words” because the reader is brought into the piece of writing through the description of the Frisbee sailing through the house, breaking dishes, and landing on the floor.

2) An example of a lead, which employs dialogue, is:

      “Half the lies people tell about me are not true.  I never

get a break!”

      “So half the lies people tell about you are true?  Do you

ever listen to what you say?”

True    (What are the indicators or ways the readers know that more than one person is speaking?)

Quotations marks are the first way a reader should recognize that a character has started to speak and stopped.  The paragraph indentations show that there are two speakers.  The third indicator is the content of the dialogue, which clearly suggests the second speaker, is responding to the first.

3) An example of a lead, which develops character, is:

One tiny box lay under the tree.  Shiny blue and silver paper seemed to beckon to me.  My name written clearly in block letters was revealed by a white blinking Christmas tree light, and beneath the name read “From Santa.’  Among all the other presents, this gift was most special.

 True   (Why is the box considered to be a character?)

The box can be a character in this piece of writing because this Christmas present is central to the story and the actual person receiving the gift might be a secondary character.

4) An example of a lead which develops setting is:

  As the sky began to lighten, I realized that the sun peaking

over the horizon indicated Christmas morning was finally here. 

Footfalls on the wooden floor indicated others were up.  The

long hours of lying in bed thinking about what was under the

Christmas tree were over.  The smells of breakfast, coffee,

bubbling oatmeal, and toast, were seeping under my door.

True    (What is developed for the reader?)

Obviously, the time and place of this piece of writing is developed so the reader can relive a Christmas morning with the sights, sounds, and smells that are described.

5) An example of a lead which employs onomatopoeia is:

  The clang of pots signaled her mother was angry.  As the

refrigerator door slammed, plates clattered on to the table,

and silverware plinked into place, Alice knew she was in

trouble.  The ring of the phone startled her, but her mother’s

quick slam of the receiver back to the cradle indicated she

would not be getting any calls tonight.

True   (What are the elements that are considered examples of onomatopoeia? Or what words focus the reader on sounds? )

The elements that bring onomatopoeia to life in this lead are the words clang, slammed, clattered, plinked, ring, and slam.

6) An example of a lead, which offers an invitation to the reader, is:

  Imagine being confronted by one of your parents at midnight

on your front steps when you were supposed to be home at ten

o’clock. Your mother or father has that angry “you’re grounded”

look on her or his face. You have the “how am I going to get out

of this one” brain scramble going on in your head.

True    (Why is this lead an example of invitation to the reader?)

In this lead, the reader is asked to place himself or herself in the shoes of a person coming home late to angry parents and trying to figure out how to solve the problem.

7) An example of a lead which attempts to develop humor is:

   As I yanked on the arched fiberglass fishing rod, the two

pound bass flew out of the water right into my face causing me

to take two stumbling steps backward, teeter on the edge of the

dock, and fall heels over head into the cattails, mud, and

shallow water of Lake Mead.  The bass bounced once on my

chest, landed again on my face, and wiggled off across the mud

flats jerking the rod along behind him as he scooted into

deeper water.

True    (What is funny about this description?)

The scene described is slapstick, physical humor during which someone fishing is knocked into the water by the fish he was trying to catch and lost his fishing rod in the process.

8)An example of a lead which develops suspense is:

  When was the last time you lay in your bed awake for four

hours?  Did you count the minutes? Which Christmas do you

remember best?

False    (What lead technique is being used?)

Question is the lead technique employed because the reader is being asked to think back over Christmas mornings and pick one most fondly remembered.

9) An example of a lead which places the reader in the action is:

  The Frisbee careened off the wall, kissed the counter, and

broke three dishes.  Pieces of ceramic dishes scattered across

the floor as the Frisbee settled amid the debris and slowly spun

in ever smaller circles.  The echoing clatter sounded throughout

the house.

True    (What verbs are used to create the action?)

The verbs used to place the reader in the action are careened, kissed, broke, scattered, settled, spun, and sounded.

10) An example of a lead which creates suspense is:

   The strange man snuck around the side of the cabin toward

my mother.  His hands moved toward her neck.  A sinister smile

played across his lips.  His shadow alerted my mother.  I was

too far away to be of any help.  She spun to confront whoever

cast the dark outline on the wall as a half-voiced scream died in

her throat.

True    (What information is withheld from the reader?)

The reader should want to know why the man is described as strange, why his hands reached for the mother’s neck, why his smile was sinister, and what the relationship might be between the two.  Suspense is created because there is tension and drama in the description.